He previously served in the [[Mississippi State Senate]] from 2007-2010.<ref name="bioguide"/>

He previously served in the [[Mississippi State Senate]] from 2007-2010.<ref name="bioguide"/>

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He is set to run for [[U.S. Congress elections, 2014|re-election]] to the [[U.S. House elections, 2014|U.S. House]] in 2014. If he runs, he will seek the Republican nomination in the primary election.{{Nov2014genelection}}

+

He is set to run for [[U.S. Congress elections, 2014|re-election]] to the [[U.S. House elections, 2014|U.S. House]] in 2014. If he runs, he will seek the Republican nomination in the primary election. {{Nov2014genelection}}

Palazzo is set to run for [[U.S. Congress elections, 2014|re-election]] to the [[U.S. House elections, 2014|U.S. House]] in 2014. If he runs, he will seek the Republican nomination in the primary election.{{Nov2014genelection}}

+

Palazzo is set to run for [[U.S. Congress elections, 2014|re-election]] to the [[U.S. House elections, 2014|U.S. House]] in 2014. If he runs, he will seek the Republican nomination in the primary election. {{Nov2014genelection}}

Steven McCarty Palazzo (b. February 21, 1970, in Gulfport, Mississippi) is a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing Mississippi's 4th congressional district. Palazzo was first elected to the House in 2010. He won re-election in 2012.

He is set to run for re-election to the U.S. House in 2014. If he runs, he will seek the Republican nomination in the primary election. The general election took place November 4, 2014.

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Palazzo is an average Republican member of Congress, meaning he will vote with the Republican Party on the majority of bills.

Biography

Palazzo was born in 1970 in Gulfport, MS. After graduating from St. Johns High School, he went on to earn his B.S. and M.P.A. from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1994 and 1996, respectively. Prior to his political career, Palazzo worked as an accountant and small business owner. He has also served in both the United States Marine Corps Reserve and the Mississippi Army National Guard, and is a veteran of the Persian Gulf War.[1]

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Palazzo's professional and political career:[1]

1988-1996: United States Marine Corps Reserve

2007-Present: Mississippi Army National Guard

2007-2010: Mississippi State House of Representatives

2009-Present: U.S. House of Representatives, 3rd Congressional District of Mississippi

Issues

Targeted by Club for Growth Action

In February 2013, the Club for Growth Action, a fiscally conservative Super PAC, launched a website called "www.PrimaryMyCongressman.com." According to the Club for Growth Action, "the purpose of the website is to raise awareness of Republicans In Name Only (RINOs) who are currently serving in safe Republican seats....The website will offer Club members and the general public the opportunity to recommend primary opponents to the incumbents highlighted by Club for Growth Action, as well as to recommend primary challengers for any Republican member of Congress. Club for Growth Action will rotate liberal Republicans through the website to highlight their failed records on limiting government." Palazzo was one of the first nine incumbent Republicans to be targeted by the site, which gave him a lifetime Club for Growth rating of 69%.[4][5]

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Palazzo voted against the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was 1 of 151 Republicans that voted against the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257-167 vote on January 1, 2013.[6]

Campaign themes

2012

The followings themes were outlined on Palazzo's campaign website.

I Believe

Excerpt: "I believe in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberty, traditional Mississippi values and strong national security. The primary role of government is to provide and protect our freedom to pursue Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."[7]

Excerpt: "When I joined the Marine Corps in 1988, I took an oath to protect and defend the constitution of the United States of America against all enemies both domestic and foreign. That was 22 years ago and I continue to live by that oath as a Mississippi Legislator and Citizen-Soldier."[9]

State Legislator

Excerpt: "As a state legislator, I have a proven record of conservatism and fighting for my district on issues important to South Mississippi."[10]

Sanctity of Marriage

Excerpt: "Marriage is between a man and a woman. The federal government should not be allowed to change the values set by individual states."[11]

Legislative actions

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 114 out of the 3,036 introduced bills (3.8 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[12] For more information pertaining to Palazzo's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.[13]

National security

American intervention in Syria

Palazzo signed a letter asking President Obama to "consult and receive authorization from Congress before ordering the use of U.S. military force in Syria." The letter was sent August 28, 2013.[14]

National Defense Authorization Act

Palazzo supported HR 1960 - the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. The bill passed the House on June 14, 2013, with a vote of 315 - 108. Both parties were somewhat divided on the vote.[15]

Department of Homeland Security Appropriations

Palazzo supported HR 2217 - the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2014. The bill passed the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 245 - 182 and was largely along party lines.[15]

Keystone Pipeline Amendment

Palazzo opposed House Amendment 69, which would have amended HR 3 to "require that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, conduct a study of the vulnerabilities of the Keystone XL pipeline to a terrorist attack and certify that necessary protections have been put in place." The amendment failed on May 22, 2013, with a vote of 176 - 239 and was largely along party lines.[15]

Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act

Palazzo supported HR 624 - the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act. The bill passed the House on April 18, 2013, with a vote of 288 - 127. The bill would allow federal intelligence agencies to share cybersecurity intelligence and information with private entities and utilities.[16] The bill was largely supported by Republicans but divided the Democratic Party.[15]

Economy

Farm Bill

Palazzo supported the July 11, 2013 Farm Bill. The bill passed in a 216-208 vote.[17] The bill passed included farm policy, but did not include food stamps.[18]

Immigration

Immigration

Morton Memos Enforcement Prohibition

Palazzo supported House Amendment 136 - Prohibits the Enforcement of the Immigration Executive Order. The amendment was adopted by the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 224 - 201. The purpose of the amendment as stated on the official text is to "prohibit the use of funds to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the Morton Memos." These memos would have granted administrative amnesty to certain illegal aliens residing in the United States.[19] The vote largely followed party lines.[20]

Healthcare

Obamacare

Social issues

Abortion

Palazzo supported HR 1797 - Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The resolution passed the House on June 18, 2013, with a vote of 228 - 196. The purpose of the bill is to ban abortions that would take place 20 or more weeks after fertilization.[21]

WWII Memorial

A group of World War II veterans, associated with the Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight, wanting to pay their respects at the WWII Memorial were met with signs and barriers upon their arrival. They refused to let their trip be affected by the government shutdown and made their way through the barriers. Many congressional members from both parties spoke their approval of the move, including Sen. Sherrod Brown and Rep. Michele Bachmann, who was in attendance. Rep. Steve King and Rep. Steve Palazzo aided the veterans by distracting park police and helping move the gates.[22]

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Steven Palazzo, click [show] to expand the section.

2010

On November 2, 2010, Steven Palazzo (R) won election to the United States House. He defeated Gene Talyor (D), Anna Revies (Reform) and Kenneth Hampton (L) in the general election.[28]

U.S. House, Mississippi District 4, 2010

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

Steven Palazzo

51.9%

105,613

Democratic

Gene Taylor incumbent

46.8%

95,243

Reform

Anna Jewel Revies

0.4%

787

Libertarian

Kenneth "Tim" Hampton

0.9%

1,741

Total Votes

203,384

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Palazzo is available dating back to 2010. Based on available campaign finance records, Palazzo raised a total of $2,006,346 during that time period. This information was last updated on May 16, 2013.[29]

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Palazzo missed 19 of 1,698 roll call votes from Jan 2011 to Apr 2013, which is 1.1% of votes during that period. This is better than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. [37]

Congressional staff salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Palazzo paid his congressional staff a total of $686,596 in 2011. Overall, Mississippi ranked 41st in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[38]

Net worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Palazzo's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $913,026 and $5,695,998. That averages to $3,304,512, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican representatives in 2011 of $7,859,232. His average net worth increased by 193% from 2010.[39]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Palazzo's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $462,023 to $1,789,998. This yields an average net worth of $1,126,010.50, which is lower than the average net worth of Republicans in 2010 of $7,561,133.[40]

National Journal vote ratings

Each year, National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted, as compared to other members in the previous year. More information about the analysis process can be found on the vote ratings page.

2012

According to the data released in 2013, Cedric Richmond was ranked the 40th most conservative representative during 2012. This is the most conservative ranking earned by a representative of Mississippi in 2012.[41]

2011

According to the data released in 2012, Steven Palazzo was ranked the 54th most conservative representative during 2011. This is the most conservative rating held by any of Mississippi's representatives.[42]

Percentage voting with party

2013

Steve Palazzo voted with the Republican Party 95.4% of the time, which ranked 146th among the 234 House Republican members as of June 2013.[43]

Personal

Palazzo lives in Gulfport, MS, with his wife, Lisa, and their three children.[44] He received the HOPE award from the Alabama-Mississippi Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The award is the society's highest honor.[45]

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Steven + Palazzo + Mississippi + House

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.